In a wide variety of closure applications, it is desirable to employ, in connection with the door or other closure element and its surrounding frame, a sealing element which may be inflated after shutting the closure element, to complete the seal. Typical applications employing such sealing means to advantage include environmental test chambers, water tight and/or dust free enclosures, and the like. Inflatable sealing strips are well suited for such applications because of their adaptability to uneven surfaces and their capability of being adjusted to various degrees of firmness by using different inflation pressures.
However, since these seals would be used in critical applications, it is of primary importance that they be easily replaceable when and if they fail. Ideally, replacement should be accomplished without making any structural changes to the door or hatch on which the seal is used since such operations tend to create additional possibilities of leakage and are time consuming. An advantageous form of sealable closure of this sort is disclosed in the Carlson U.S. Pat. No. 3,397,490. There, a flexible sealing strip is attached to a closure member, such as a door frame, by intermittently spaced, staggered clips, providing for installation and removal of the strip by flexing the strip in serpentine fashion along its longitudinal axis.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved form of sealable closure of the general type shown in the above-mentioned Carlson patent. In particular, the invention provides a continuous, inflatable seal arrangement which is readily installed and removed, yet is ruggedly and securely held in place despite rough handling and/or extended and severe use.